Great Big Sea - Donkey Riding Lyrics






[Chorus:]

Way hey and away we go
Donkey riding, donkey riding
Way hey and away we go
Ridin' on a donkey.

Was you ever in Quebec
Launchin' timber on the deck?
Where ya break yer bleedin' neck
Ridin' on a donkey!

[Chorus]

Was you ever 'round Cape Horn
Where the weather's never warm?
Wished to God you'd never been born
Ridin' on a donkey.

[Chorus]

Was you ever in Miramichi
Where ye tie up to a tree,
An' the girls sit on yer knee?
Ridin' on a donkey

[Chorus]

Was you ever in Fortune Bay
See the girls all shout, "Hooray!"?
"Here comes dad with ten weeks pay
Riding on a donkey."

[Chorus]

Was you ever in London-town
See the King he does come down?
See the King in his golden crown
Riding on a donkey

[Chorus]





Other Lyrics by Artist

Rand Lyrics

Last Posts

Great Big Sea Donkey Riding Comments
  1. h.... b....

    Great big sea can you make a Donkey Riding video without Lyrics

  2. h.... b....

    This is my Faverite song

  3. p.... ....

    1:50 could this have been recorded in Fredericton by any chance. Lol.

  4. M.... ....

    Woke up with this in my head today, asked my husband if he remembered it and he looked at me like I was mad. Learned this aged about 6 , never forgot it and still love it 50 years on .

  5. J.... H....

    Old sea shanty

  6. M.... M....

    this is like bonnie heiland laddie

  7. R.... G....

    Emilia Clarke .......😍😘

  8. J.... H....

    Hate the cover love the song

  9. J.... A....

    Emilia Clark brought me here

  10. I.... ....

    Which show is this from? There used to be a video but I can't find it now.

  11. S.... ....

    The question still remains, what is the donkey, is it a boat, is it a logging machine. I heard the donkey is a tow motor, and the “king” is a dock supervisor. Also then the girls on his knee is the donkey his dick, so many questions

  12. S.... N....

    I am learning this song in my theory class Edit: #Pearsonlife

  13. G.... M....

    This is my favorite Irish song because of two reasons.
    (1) It makes me stomp and clap
    (2) My family does foster care so we have a big van. Me and my dad are Irish fans and we always play Great Big Sea. When this song turns on i start laughing because the van acts like a donkey.

  14. R.... D....

    I live in Vancouver,our friend bought this Cd back in the day and left it here,and said everytime you guys play this im here,lol!!true dat is!!

  15. S.... R....

    Miramichier over here and I can confirm that I have never been tied up to a tree, nor have the girls ever sat on my knee
    Maybe one day , who knows

  16. B.... F....

    I used to sing this song in Elementary and I always found it when they said have you ever been in Quebec since I live in Montreal which is a city in Quebec but they may also be referring to Quebec City

  17. M.... ....

    we are playing this in my band class lol i love it so much

  18. c.... ....

    MY BEST BUD PLAYED THIS ON ME WEDDING DAY HAHA! Love ya Randy

  19. J.... ....

    Nice version

  20. a.... ....

    Are music teacher showed us this to day and this is all I can think about

  21. j.... ....

    I would really love to hear Shrek and Gordon Ramsay doing a duet of this song!

  22. M.... M....

    What's the difference between Frederickton and London Town?

  23. M.... M....

    They're not talking about the animal donkey

  24. M.... M....

    They sound Scottish

  25. M.... M....

    Skip to 0:32

  26. W.... G....

    I learned this song in music class........
    No I’m obsessed...
    I blame my teacher 😑

  27. J.... ....

    Man you fucked these lyrics up something serious.

  28. M.... B....

    FREDERICTON not London-Town

  29. j.... G....

    i love this song

  30. C.... S....

    I'm not a Newfie, but I sing this to my kid from time to time.

  31. T.... F....

    I Love the fact Miramichi is in this song....and YES WE WILL SIT ON YOUR KNEE 💜💜💜💜💜💜

  32. D.... H....

    I know Great Big Sea is a Canadian band and all, but this band is where Canadians and Irish come together with great music!

    D.... H....

    Dom The Domino A-FUCKING-MEN lol

    D.... H....

    this is a newfoundland band which is in Canada but were not Irish its just an accent

    D.... H....

    @Walsh Boy do I have some news for you, in 1949 Newfoundland became a province in Canada, and where as GBS is a Newfi band, all east coast provinces identify with the song and hold it close to them.

  33. B.... B....

    Green skull brought me here.

  34. e.... ....

    Some lyrics are wrong in every video almost as if on purpose?

  35. P.... ....

    I remember singing this in primary school (UK)

  36. M.... ....

    I have to sing this but the words are slightly different and the rhythm is also slightly different.

  37. Y.... Z....

    And in Santorini, saw people rode donkeys. listen to this song ~ LMAO

  38. N.... J....

    The donkey is a forklift, and the golden crown coming down is the foreman showing up on the dock with his yellow protection hat...I blew my teacher grade 5 away when I figured that out when I was only 11 years old.

    N.... J....

    Unfortunately, you are incorrect. A "Steam donkey" is a type of boiler, and this song dates back to 1857. But it's an excellent image.

    N.... J....

    I think you both are kind off a donkey is slang for a barge or freight vessel

    N.... J....

    It very well could be a literal donkey, because this song was a work shanty for logging crews i the late 1800s and in rural areas. They used the animal even tho the “donkey” engine was invented

    N.... J....

    And then the whole bus clapped

  39. E.... P....

    this is the worst version of this beautiful sea shantie

  40. T.... F....

    SO PROUD TO BE A NB`ER....spisificly a MIRAMIcHIER (and yes, we`ii sit on yer knee lol)

    T.... F....

    Theresa From the Miramichi you can sit on my knee

  41. D.... A....

    I don't think I'd want to be on whatever crew's working the capstan to this song.

  42. N.... ....

    These lyrics suck I learnt something else not helpful for exams

  43. r.... n....

    I like that Fredericton was interpreted as London-Town... haha

    r.... n....

    That's because the original lyrics do say London-town. I assume this version of the song was recorded in Fredericton, Moncton, or Saint John somewhere thats near Fredericton.

    r.... n....

    Call 22315535342

  44. W.... G....

    from sea to sea

  45. S.... I....

    Why this song has such a meaning to me I will most likely never know but I stomp my feet and clap my hands regardless.

    S.... I....

    I'm the same

    S.... I....

    23332323333485

  46. R.... S....

    Dave duly

  47. J.... B....

    This is my Irish wife's very favorite song of all time... I was beginning to wonder if she was making the song up. Now I know...
    ...still don't get the donkey-riding - sailing around the world lyrics...

    J.... B....

    It's not a literal donkey, it's generally thought to be a reference to a "steam donkey" a type of early steam engine. They were used in a lot of ways on ships like loading and unloading cargo, helping to raise the sails or power pumps.

  48. V.... ....

    I only knew the version by Fiddlers Green but this is also very nice! :)

    V.... ....

    Didn't know FIddler's Green did this!

    V.... ....

    @Anton Kotelyanskii the song has a different name, "donkey riding" :)

  49. K.... D....

    I hear this song by Assassins creed rouge and i love Canada :)

    K.... D....

    TKS....We love you too :p

    K.... D....

    Kirby DreamLand Yes We Do Love Ya Too

  50. U.... F....

    it's been three years since I've heard this song and it still sounds great

    U.... F....

    This song is from my childhood! It's still amazing

    U.... F....

    +Shaker Of words good god you're old. it is from the mid 1800s...

    U.... F....

    I'm 2245678976557521356 and a half to be exact

  51. p.... ....

    The lyrics are wrong...

    p.... ....

    Do you really care?

    p.... ....

    +peterhobo your blind they are not wrong dumbass

    p.... ....

    +Jordyn Jones go to the final verse

  52. R.... ....

    probably a rare cultural overlap here, but as a great big sea fan and a video gamer, there's a sea shanty version of this in Assassin's Creed Rogue, where late 1700s Newfoundland is an in-game location - you can have the crew of your ship sing this as you pull your ship into St. John's =D

    R.... ....

    The EAST

    R.... ....

    In 1700 Canada didn't even exist.

    R.... ....

    @Shane Armstrong Yeah Newfoundland would've been it's own country until the 40's (a part of the empire still I believe)

    R.... ....

    Thats why i am here :))

  53. T.... G....

    omg yes! i love these live versions :)

  54. G.... C....

    Who Thinks At The Start Of The Song It Almost Sounds Like The Beat Of Angel Of The CenterFold

  55. m.... ....

    I hope they get back together.

  56. Z.... W....

    I sang this at Girl Scout camp

  57. J.... F....

    Oh man :D I love that came from my province

  58. S.... 2....

    theirs some people id like to see in newfoundland they wouldn't survive unless they went to town

  59. C.... F....

    fredericton not london-town

    C.... F....

    They did that on purpose :D

    C.... F....

    @Chelsea Furlotte This live version was probably recorded in Fredericton.

  60. J.... B....

    Awful version.

  61. t.... ....

    OMG  eons ago we learned to sing this in school as well as 'I'se the By', stays in your psyche,  particularly if you have Irish blood... or Newfie blood!

  62. G.... ....

    SaltyLion

  63. s.... M....

    Daenerys targaryen

    s.... M....

    superkiller886 Mendenhall i'm here too for emilia 😂

    s.... M....

    lol me thou 😂😂😂

  64. J.... O....

    My Dad used to sing this to me when I was a wee lad!  

    J.... O....

    Aie Lad you were a lucky boy

  65. T.... M....

    Emilia Clarke

    T.... M....

    Lol it was a nice episode

    T.... M....

    Tiago Miranda ye 😂

  66. C.... A....

    I'm Canadian and we sang this song in elementary school

    C.... A....

    Theresa From the Miramichi we sang it in elementary school in Alberta.

    C.... A....

    Saskatchewan elementary

    C.... A....

    I'm Welsh and we learned it too, and I still love it

    C.... A....

    Corvo Attano From the US. Me too.

    C.... A....

    Corvo Attano 63years never for got it!!!

  67. j.... ....

    NB ? New Brunswick ? They are from Newfoundland

  68. T.... ....

    he wrote london-town instead of fredericton 

    T.... ....

    the track is from the show in fredericton , . the actual lyrics are london town

    T.... ....

    @Harley Peters yup, its all about working that donkey. no sexual innuendos at all. 

    T.... ....

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_donkey

  69. P.... ....

    I don't know if anyone has noticed this yet but this song is about sex,
    and if you say im wrong just think about all the innuendos like cape horn,
    sounds like gay porn

    P.... ....

    those are towns

    P.... ....

     In the traditional song "Donkey Riding," a donkey is not an equine, it's an engine: a large winch used on sailing ships to pull chains aboard, primarily on the East Coast of Canada. Great Big Sea hails from Newfoundland and uses traditional as well as electric instruments in their performances.

    P.... ....

    "Donkey riding" is an old Canadian maritime term, once frequently used throughout Atlantic Canada and the Northeastern US, to describe working with an old steam engine(a "steam donkey"). The song is about a hundred years old, long before anyone was making gay porn, never mind singing about it.

    Sounds like you just have gay porn on the brain. This is the wrong website for that.

    P.... ....

    says the guy who's name is goobathin

    P.... ....

    @Nicholas Castellani HAHA you are so fucking gay.

  70. P.... B....

    I curse the Quebec goverment

  71. M.... ....

    Miramichi, REPRESENT! :3

  72. s.... ....

    Miramichi!!

  73. C.... ....

    Sang this 60 years ago at school, classroom harmonising they called it. didn't sound that bad. I have always remembered it.

  74. z.... ....

    Vintagebeef represent

  75. M.... ....

    So amazing...so the bootstrappers in Disneyland converted this song to Flying on the Dutchman?? Or is it viceversa...wow.

  76. J.... a....

    This was the first song I ever heard

  77. P.... M....

    In answer to John Mack, I've written a version of this which is about riding four legged beasts.

  78. K.... M....

    i wonder where this concert was cause i live about 2 hours out of miramichi lol

  79. P.... B....

    what he is to poor to afford a horse

  80. J.... L....

    I've loved this song since I was like 3!!! <3 Great Big Sea!!!

  81. W.... G....

    Same. Its called two Canadian folk songs.

  82. C.... C....

    I do this song in band

  83. C.... D....

    we are doing this song in band and I thought it was lame till I heard this.

  84. i.... m....

    raymond diparahardja what is your school's name

  85. r.... d....

    My school's version is way different

  86. T.... ....

    I don't know how I should feel about this...

  87. O.... ....

    They say Quebec like we say it in french. Not Kwebek. Love these guys.

  88. T.... T....

    lol my trumpet book is playing it so fast but only a short part of it rofl (beggining brass rofl)

  89. C.... ....

    Yeah he got somthing against New Bruswickers lol

  90. J.... ....

    the album version says london town, its because its a live version they change some of the lyrics lol

  91. C.... R....

    I think this is such an amazing outage of the. Any. Very catchy

  92. P.... ....

    It's a winch, basically. >_> But no, donkey refers more to the ship with the winch than the winch in this song, I reckon.

  93. K.... M....

    @SliC3oFicE Damn right!

  94. S.... ....

    How come everyone in the comments write "Fredricton"? It's "Fredericton".

  95. j.... m....

    i wonder how many folks think he is talkin bout a four legged beast (donkey) ??? when he is actually talkin bout an industrial tool called a donkey

  96. S.... ....

    Was you ever in pei
    Where all the gals catch your eye
    All the pubs never dry

    Riding on a donkey

    Can't forget bout the sandbar